SCHENECTADY, NY - No. 9 Union men's ice hockey (5-1-3, 2-0-0 ECAC Hockey) hosts Brown (2-2-0, 1-1-0 ECAC Hockey) and No. 10/13 Yale (2-1-1, 1-1-0 ECAC Hockey) at Messa Rink in what will be the last two games for the Dutchmen at Messa Rink in 2011. Both teams split their league opening weekend at home, with Brown earning a 5-4 win over Cornell and Yale earning a 2-0 win over Colgate on Saturday. Union has a five game unbeaten streak (3-0-2) against Brown and snapped a four-game winless streak against Yale with a 3-2 win on Jan. 28, 2011 at Messa Rink, when the Bulldogs were ranked No. 1 in the nation.
Home Is Where The Heart Is
Dating back to the beginning of last season, the Dutchmen have an impressive record (16-1-4) in their last 21 regular season home games at Messa Rink. Not including exhibition contests, the Dutchmen are 141-134-42 all-time at home.
Grosenick Steady in Net
Sophomore goaltender Troy Grosenick is off to a great start in net for the Dutchmen. Grosenick, who has started eight of nine games in net for Union, is first in the nation in goals-against average (1.24), save percentage (.949), and tied for second in shutouts (2), through nine games this season.
Zajac Joins Union College Century Club
Senior forward Kelly Zajac leads the Dutchmen in scoring with two goals and 12 assists in Union's first nine contests. With an assist last Saturday at Clarkson, Zajac now has 100 points (31 goals, 69 assists) for his career. He is the 20th member of the Union College Century Club, and just the seventh student-athlete in the Division I era to accomplish that feat. Zajac is also now in sole possession of fourth place on the school's Division I assist list, and trails Jason Walters '10 (73 assists), Joel Beal '05 (74 assists) and Adam Presizniuk '11 (83 assists). He is tied for second in the nation with 1.32 assists per game.
Special Teams Success
The Dutchmen have gotten off to another hot start on the power play, which ranks second in the nation at 31.1% (14-for-45). Junior forward Jeremy Welsh leads the nation with five power play goals in nine games. Union's penalty kill unit has been just impressive. Over the past five games, the Dutchmen have killed 28 of the last 29 power play opportunities for their opposition and rank seventh in the nation at 90.2% on the penalty kill.
The Union-Brown Series
Saturday's contest will be the 41st meeting all time between the two schools and the 40th since Union went to Division I in 1991. Brown leads all-time series 19-11-10 and 18-11-10 in DI play. In the last five outings, the Dutchmen are unbeaten in their last five against the Bears, posting a record of 3-0-2.
Scouting Brown
Senior Jack Maclellan was named Pre-Season All-ECAC Hockey in a vote by the 12 ECAC Head Coaches. A Second Team All-ECAC honoree a year ago, Maclellan is coming off a junior season in which he led Brown with 17 assists and 31 points, despite missing the last six games of the year with a foot injury. Through four games this season, Maclellan is tied for the team lead with four points (one goal, three assists)
Freshman Massimo Lamacchia is off to a hot start for the Bears, leading the team in points (four) and goals (three). Senior forward Bobby Farnham also returns as one of Brown's impact players up front. Farnham had a goal and two assists to lead all scorers in Brown's 5-4 win over Cornell.
Senior goaltender Mike Clemente returns in net for Brown, and has proven himself as a capable No 1 goaltender in ECAC Hockey. Clemente, who earned ECAC Hockey Goaltender of the Week honors on Nov. 1, is 2-2-0 with a 3.03 goals-against average and .885 save percentage.
The Last Meeting
On Jan. 29, 2011, Adam Presizniuk scored twice in the second period to lead Union to a 4-2 win over Brown in front of 1,774 fans at Messa Rink.
John Simpson and Justin Pallos also scored for the Dutchmen, who pulled within one point of the ECAC-leading Yale after the Bulldogs fell to RPI later in the evening. Keith Kinkaid made 26 stops on 28 shots to improve to 17-7-2 on the season.
Simpson scored his fifth goal of the season at 13:44 of the first period to give Union a 1-0 lead. With Brown's Marc Antoine-Carrier in the penalty box for tripping, Wayne Simpson fed older brother John from the side boards. John Simpson skated in from straightaway and fired a wrist shot over the shoulder of De Filippo.
Brown tied the score in the opening minute of the second period. Jack Maclellan scored his team-leading 14th goal of the season, sweeping a backhander between Kinkaid's pads to even the score at 1-1 at :18.
With the game in the balance, Presizniuk made a great play to set up his first goal of the night, giving the Dutchmen the lead for good. Presizniuk stripped Brown's Marc-Antoine Carrier in the neutral zone and cut into the offensive zone on an odd-man rush before firing a shot into the far side of the net at 4:28 of the second period.
The Union-Yale Series
In a series that dates back to Jan. 10, 1992, the Bulldogs own a 22-16-4 advantage over the Dutchmen. In the last five outings, Yale has a 3-1-1 record. The last time these two teams met on Jan. 28, 2011, Union defeated No. 1 Yale, 3-2 at Messa Rink to earn its first win over a top-ranked team in program history. The two teams took part in the second-longest game in NCAA history when Yale defeated Union in a five overtime game, 3-2, during the 2006 ECAC Hockey Playoffs. The game, which lasted 141:35, started at 7 p.m. and finished at 1:10 a.m.
Scouting Yale
Last season was not only historic for Union, but also for ECAC Hockey rival Yale. Yale's 28 wins last year were a school record, four better than its win total in 2008-09. Yale's 17 ECAC hockey wins equaled the record reached by the 1997-98 team with an identical 17-4-1 mark.
While Yale lost three of its top five scorers in Broc Little, Denny Kearney and Chris Cahill, as well as starting goaltender Ryan Rondeau, the Bulldogs earned a preseason No. 1 ranking by ECAC Hockey coaches and media, due largely to the return of their top two scorers from 2010-11, Brian O'Neill and Andrew Miller.
Yale has had some trouble scoring early on this season, with eight goals in four games this season. O'Neill (one goal, one assist) and Miller (two assists), have combined for four points so far this season. Sophomore forward Clinton Bourbonais leads the way with three points (one goal, two assists)
Junior goaltender Jeff Malcolm has started all four games in net, putting up good numbers. Malcolm is 2-1-1 with a 1.98 goals against average and a .938 save percentage.
The Last Meeting
On Jan. 28, 2011, Adam Presizniuk scored what proved to be the deciding goal at 14:19 of the second period to lift No 13/12 Union to a historic 3-2 win over No. 1 Yale in front of 2,251 fans at Messa Rink. Union's win was the first in program history over a team ranked No. 1 in the nation. Union entered the third period with a 3-1 lead after goals from Presizniuk and Wayne Simpson in the second period, and a first period score from Daniel Carr. But Yale forward Kenny Agostino cut into the Union lead with a power play goal at 13:39 of the third period.
Keith Kinkaid held off Yale in what was a frantic finish for the Bulldogs. The Dutchmen were outshot 13-4 in the final frame. Kinkaid made 28 saves, including 12 in the third period for his 16th win of the season (16-7-2), moving him in a tie with Trevor Koenig (16 wins in 1995-96) for second on the single season wins list.
